Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Five-day meeting has no fans but plenty of high-class action
There are plenty of really good horses slated to race next week at the five-day Royal Ascot meeting – just not any great ones.
Maybe you could count Stradivarius as a “great” as he seeks to win the 2 1/2-mile Ascot Gold Cup for the third year in a row, but he is a niche great, a stamina-laden staying champion who was well beaten earlier this month in the 1 1/2-mile Coronation Cup by Ghaiyyath. Ghaiyyath is scheduled for what ought to be a great race against the legitimately great Enable in the Eclipse Stakes, but that comes well after the conclusion of the Royal Ascot stand, which runs from Tuesday through Saturday.
Daily Racing Form has created a Royal Ascot-specific web page (drf.com/royal-ascot) filled with race previews, race recaps, and race predictions. DRF also is offering Americanstyle past performances for all Royal Ascot races this year, and the cards are available for live streaming and wagering at DRFBets.com.
It will be quiet, too, at the historic racecourse sited about 30 miles west-southwest of central London. Royal Ascot is all about tall hats, royal carriages, seeing, and being seen, but owing to the coronavirus pandemic, still galloping strongly through England, the Royal Meeting runs spectatorfree this year.
Foreign shippers are permitted, however, so as usual trainer Wesley Ward has sent a contingent, seven horses for five different races. Ward made his mark winning 2-year-old Royal Ascot stakes, but the exciting 3-year-old filly Kimari has a legitimate chance to beat the boys in the Group 1 Commonwealth Stakes over six furlongs on Friday.
Let’s roll through the expected highlights of each racing day.
Tuesday
The Group 1 Queen Anne, a straight-course mile, is the traditional first race on the first day of Royal Ascot, and it’s unfortunately becoming traditional for the race to attract a relatively modest field. But don’t blame the race: The European mile division hasn’t produced a real star for a couple years now, and there are no heirs apparent among the likely runners for this Queen Anne renewal. Solidly favored in early wagering as of Friday was Circus Maximus, the Aidan O’Brientrained 4-year-old last seen finishing fourth, beaten nearly three lengths by victorious Uni, in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Circus Maximus did capture the Group 1 St. James’s Palace Stake at Royal Ascot in 2019. The John Gosden-trained filly Terebellum, who encouragingly won her 4-year-old debut June 6 at Newmarket, also has come in for plenty of support.
The other Group 1 on the Tuesday card is the King’s Stand over five furlongs, a race that has Battaash as the early odds-on favorite. Battaash has finished second to the retired Blue Point in the last two King’s Stands, but faces no rival of that quality Tuesday.
The Group 2 King Edward, for 3-year-olds over 1 1/2 miles, will have the O’Brien-trained Mogul as a heavy favorite, while Gosden has two more live chances with Frankie Darling (Frankie Dettori to ride) in the Group 2 Ribblesdale for 3-yearold fillies and Nazeef in the Group 2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes.
Wednesday
The Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes over 1 1/4 miles is the clear highlight of Day 2, and Japan, yet another O’Brientrained
colt, is the strong early favorite. Japan scored a sharp win at Royal Ascot 2019 in the King Edward Stakes, and later last summer defeated top older horse Crystal Ocean while getting weight in the Group 1 Juddmonte International. He rounded out his season with a fourth-place finish in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe racing over a very soft course he probably disliked. Also expected to start is Barney Roy, who was retired to stud, proved infertile, returned to racing, and showed plenty of his old spark winning twice in Dubai this winter.
Ward has his first runners on this program, Sheriff Bianco and Sunshine City, in the Windsor Castle Stakes.
Thursday
The Ascot Gold Cup headlines this program, and Stradivarius will be heavily favored to make it three straight Gold Cups.
Friday
Kimari moves from a sloppytrack Oaklawn stakes win to the straight-course Commonwealth. She was beaten a head in the 25-runner Queen Mary a year ago at Ascot and stands a solid chance to come home a winner this time. Ward also runs Flying Aletha in the Albany Stakes and Golden Pal in the Norfolk Stakes.
Saturday
Three Group 1s – the Coronation, the St. James’s Palace, and the Diamond Jubilee – top what should be an excellent closing session of the meet.
Pinatubo, beaten for the first time as the favorite in the English 2000 Guineas last out, runs in the St. James’s Palace, while Graham Motion is sending Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Sharing for the Coronation.